NCJ Number
153279
Date Published
1994
Length
35 pages
Annotation
Case records of children who were reported as missing or abducted and later found dead were examined to reveal information that might be of use to individuals working with missing child cases.
Abstract
The 210 cases were recorded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children from April 2, 1982 to August 8, 1992. In 26 cases, the parents initially reported their children as abducted or missing and were later discovered to have been directly responsible for their deaths. Further analysis has revealed an additional six cases meeting this same scenario. The majority of cases, the children, excluding those whose deaths were accidental or self-inflicted, were abducted by people they knew. Children between ages 6 and 17 made up the largest victim group. White females were the largest victim group, followed by white males, black males, and black females. Females were most often victims of homicide (76.6 percent), while males were often victims of accidental death (44.2 percent), particularly accidental drowning. Figures and map